1 (of a situation) not safe or certain; dangerous:
He earned a precarious living as an artist. * The museum is in a financially precarious position. * The world is a precarious and unstable place.
2 likely to fall or cause sb to fall:
That ladder looks very precarious. * The path down to the beach is very precarious in wet weather.
precariously adverb:
The economy is precariously close to recession. * He balanced the glass precariously on the arm of his chair.
precariousness noun [U]
